Google expands Demand Gen with messaging ads, travel tools and AI video creation

Google is adding new messaging, travel and AI-powered creative capabilities to Demand Gen, giving advertisers more ways to turn discovery into leads and customers across YouTube and other Google inventory.

The updates are part of Google’s August Demand Gen Drop and build on hundreds of improvements the company says it made to the campaign type during the second half of 2025.

What’s new. Google is testing a way for people to start conversations with brands through messaging apps directly from Demand Gen ads on YouTube.

The feature is designed to shorten the journey for high-intent prospects, allowing someone who discovers a brand through a video ad to move directly into a conversation rather than navigating through a more traditional conversion path.

Messaging meets Demand Gen. For lead generation advertisers, the test introduces another potential action beyond sending users to a website or landing page.

Google’s focus is on moving customers who already demonstrate strong intent closer to a purchase by making it easier to contact the advertiser from the ad experience.

Travel gets more personalized. Google is also expanding Demand Gen capabilities specifically for travel advertisers.

Demand Gen ads will be able to surface local activities, events and real-time offers, while hotel advertising is becoming more personalized so relevant properties can be shown to the audiences Google considers most appropriate.

That could make Demand Gen more useful for travel businesses looking to connect discovery-focused advertising with offers based on what travelers may actually want to do or book.

AI video creation expands. Google’s Multimodal Video Creation in Asset Studio is now generally available, giving more advertisers access to its AI-powered video production workflow.

Advertisers can move from storyboarding through to producing horizontal and vertical video assets within a single workflow.

The numbers. Google says the hundreds of Demand Gen improvements introduced during the second half of 2025 are, on average, driving a 30% increase in conversions or conversion value for advertisers.

Google is now building on those changes with tools focused more specifically on acquiring customers and generating higher-quality leads.

Why we care. Demand Gen is gaining more ways to turn attention into action, particularly through direct messaging from YouTube ads and more personalized travel experiences. The wider availability of AI video creation could also make it faster and cheaper to produce the multiple formats needed across Demand Gen inventory, potentially lowering one of the biggest barriers to scaling these campaigns.

Bottom line. Google’s August Demand Gen Drop pushes the campaign type further toward measurable customer acquisition, combining direct conversations, more personalized travel advertising and scalable AI-generated video creative.